How to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

Creative problem-solving has countless uses. Too often, people associate creative problem-solving with crises or difficulties, or think of it as something that’s used for games and puzzles or special kinds of jobs. Creative problem-solving skills are required for achieving exceptional performance in most tasks. The term “problem” simply refers to a difference between the current situation and a desired future outcome.

Finding a way to exploit an opportunity is a form of problem-solving just as is coping with a crisis. Any improvement to work processes or products fits the definition of a problem.

Creative thinking is not just for certain jobs, such as writing advertising copy or developing entertaining training programs. Creativity can help us move from our current situation to a desired future situation, whether our jobs are normally thought of as involving “creative work” or not.

So, how do you get to the “aha” of a creative solution?

Ask “Why?” – Get to the root of your problem by mimicking a four-year-old child: repeatedly ask “why?” For example:

Filing expense reports is a problem. Why?

You bring back a stack of receipts and often, some are missing. Why?

There is no convenient way to collect everything during a trip; not every receipt is wallet size. Why do you need paper receipts?

Is there a way to track or store expenses electronically?

The flip side to that question is, “Why not?“

Immerse yourself – Work the problem from the inside out to find trouble spots you might otherwise miss. For example, if you wanted to improve your call-centre’s response time, pretend to be a customer and call in. Find out what your customers are dealing with each time they call.

Generate more ideas – You might be able to come up with five ideas for a new training program… expect none are innovative. Push to come up with 10 or 15 ideas, increasing the likelihood of a gem.

Change your focus – If you’re looking at one specific function of a larger process, “zoom out” and look at the whole picture. Conversely, if you’re viewing a system-wide problem, focus on each aspect of the issue.

Go somewhere else – A team brainstorming session in the board room can work, but it can also get in the way of creative thinking. Some people do their best thinking alone, away from a group. How many times have you had a great idea in the shower? Changing up your location can spark your creativity.

Make mistakes – Allow yourself the option of “failing.” Too often, we edit or eliminate our creative options because they’re too “different.” Give yourself permission to try things that may not work.